The Mediterranean Diet - prescription for disease prevention? PART 2

YOUR HEALTH - IN YOUR HANDS

Christine Houghton | Copyright - CELL-LOGIC PTY LTD | www.cell-logic.com.au | info@cell-logic.com.au

The

‘HEALTH IS WEALTH’ Series

In Part 1, we looked at the Mediterranean diet as a possible prescription for good health and longevity. The Greeks living on Crete and consuming their traditional diet can boast the lowest rates of heart disease in the world. Not only are the Greeks relatively free of cardiovascular disease but they are also far freer of the other diseases of civilization - cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, menopausal abnormalities, gall bladder disease and diverticulitis to name the most common.

What is so curious about this is that the Greeks would appear to break all of the "rules" which we in Australia hold up as icons for cardiovascular disease prevention. This anomaly may explain why you may occasionally hear of a person who has been to his doctor and been given a "clean bill of health". S ecure in this apparent reassurance, there is great surprise and shock when the individual suffers a heart attack soon after. Many modern nutritionists are asking whether we are measuring disease risk in the right way.

Now, if you’re one of those who has embraced the al fresco dining trend which has been gradually encroaching on A ustralian city and suburban streetscapes over the past two decades, you will have had a taste of the traditional diet of the Mediterraneans.

Where once you would have sipped cold beer while eating butter-sodden "garlic bread", you are now more likely to clink glasses of red wine over a minimally-refined loaf of flat bread, heavily impregnated with fresh herbs and dipped into Extra Virgin Olive Oil in which has been marinated cloves of garlic, basil and rosemary. (Incidentally, no self-respecting Mediterranean would ever consider our "garlic bread" to be traditional fare!)

A vegetable soup based on a lamb shank and always containing some form of legume, (lentils, chick peas, haricot beans and the like) follows. The soup would be followed by a hu ge salad based on all kinds of green leaves and other available vegetables, finished with a l iberal dousing of olive oil and wine vinegar. Fresh fruit and a few nuts (usually walnuts if you are Greek) complete the meal.

THE NATURE OF THE ANOMALY In Australia, major risk factors for heart disease are the following: overweight or obesity, elevated serum cholesterol, smoking, lack of exercise, hypertension, and stress. T he landmark 1970's Seven Countries Study which first examined the connection between diet and heart disease in 16 pop ulation groups in 7 c ountries, showed that our risk factors did not appear to apply to the populations demonstrating the lowest incidence of heart disease.

The long-lived Greeks in the study were fat, smoked heavily, had average serum cholesterol levels of 5.98 mmol/litre (our limit is set at 5.0 or 5.5!), didn't do any more exercise than those in the high-incidence groups and consumed a hi gh-fat diet (mostly olive oil). T he dietary fat intake in fact averaged 38% of daily energy intake; we recommend no m ore than 30%. B y our standards, they did everything wrong!

SO, WHAT'S THE SECRET?

THE TERM ‘MEDITERRANEAN DIET’ IS SOMETHING OF A MISNOMER……IT IS MORE OF A LIFESTYLE. A LIFESTYLE CHARACTERISED BY GOOD FOOD, OFTEN FROM HOME-GROWN INGREDIENTS, SUNSHINE, FRESH AIR, PLENTY OF WALKING (SMALL VILLAGES HAVE NARROW STREETS), AN APPRECIATION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY AND A MINDSET OF “LA DOLCE VITA” …THE SWEET LIFE

THE MEDITERRANEAN PANTRY – ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS

Christine Houghton | Copyright - CELL-LOGIC PTY LTD | www.cell-logic.com.au | info@cell-logic.com.au

Do we need to review the risk factors?

Many of us would think so. Australia's heart disease peaked in 1968 and has been declining at around 3% per year in the ensuing two decades.

Even so, we still exhibit levels of heart disease mortality many fold greater than that of cultures who live according to the traditional Mediterranean lifestyle.

Is this a model which could be applicable to other modern lifestyles?

In summary, Mediterraneans consume around 3-4 times as many fruits and vegetables as we do. This gives them comparatively high antioxidant status, not only as antioxidant vitamins such as Vitamin C and E but also as other phytochemicals such as flavonoids. They eat as much fat but not the saturated fat we obtain mostly from a high meat and dairy intake. They rely heavily on cereals in the form of bread and pasta (wheat) and corn (polenta) as well as nuts and legumes to provide their protein, many vitamins and trace minerals.

Garlic and red wine are both credited with therapeutic properties of their own. Olive oil which is high in monounsaturated fatty acids is believed to promote the desirable HDL/LDL balance so that even though Mediterraneans exhibit high serum cholesterol, their HDL levels favour vascular health.

Have the Mediterraneans found the secret? Perhaps it's too early to say but why not find yourself one of those inviting little al fresco restaurants from which to conduct your own clinical trials? Bon appetit!!

HEALTH IS WEALTH YOUR HEALTH - IN YOUR HANDS

THE DIFFERENCES